The NFL rumor mill is churning these days. Wide receivers are a must-need for contenders across divisions, and Las Vegas Raiders star receiver Davante Adams is dominating the conversation ahead of November's trade deadline.
And, that's a little surprising considering there's a great receiver also likely to be made available by then who'll cost a lot less against a team's cap space - Cleveland's Amari Cooper.
Cooper, who saw a potential game winning touchdown catch disappear after a holding call during Week 4, seems over it when it comes to playing for the Browns. He told reporters after the Raiders loss that they should "start asking questions in front of the cameras, so they could see y'alls faces" in reference to questions asked to him about his performance in the game.
Granted, Cooper has already recorded eight dropped passes this season, so reporters have a reason to be asking him about his lackluster season so far after such a big one last year with the Browns. But, to be pressed about his performance despite a catch in the biggest moment of the game which was overturned through no fault of his own can definitely be frustrating.
Cooper's contract for 2024 was recently converted to almost entirely signing bonus money. That means that any team seeking an upgrade at wide receiver for cheap should be calling GM Andrew Berry. Davante Adams' contract would carry a $13.5 million cap hit if he were to be traded this week. Compared to the hit that Cooper's contract would entail - $605,000 in cash by the deadline - it feels like a no brainer to opt for Cooper if you're a team worried about affording a trade.
The Kansas City Chiefs were mentioned by NFL insider Peter Schrager as a potential landing spot for Cooper prior to the Adams trade request went live this week. While interdivisional trades aren't always appealing to teams, the Chiefs could be in desperation mode as they await injury news on WR Rashee Rice. Cooper would be an affordable target for the defending champions, and an excellent deep ball threat in a Patrick Mahomes-led offense.
The Steelers and Saints are also allegedly interested in Adams, but according to The Athletic's senior NFL insider Dianna Russini, teams around the league feel like the New York Jets are all but guaranteed to land Adams in the sweepstakes for his talents.
ESPN's Adam Schefter also reported that the Raiders are open to a package around a second round draft pick and other compensation in exchange for the star receiver, which should signal to Browns fans that Cleveland's return for Cooper would likely be even less than that for Adams. Cleveland desperately needs to recoup picks post-Watson trade - they have a first round pick in 2025 to fall back on - so anything helps.
This should get interesting ahead of Week 5 as it feels like the Adams domino falling is the key to any Cooper domino falling right afterward.
